Just like everything else in Texas, shopping is done big here. So far, we haven't found typical indoor malls, but have done some shopping. Fortunately, we haven't done much buying. However, this weekend, we were on a mission- I needed some nice brown shoes for a job interview and hadn't had much luck. So, we decided to venture out to the Arboretum. It was a nice area not too far from where my husband works-they often eat lunch in this area. The stores were set up in clusters with nice walking paths in between. We started at Gap-it was a really nice Gap, but it seemed ridiculous to be looking at fall fashions in the heat. We moved on to Pottery Barn, which was nice and huge. We also stopped by Restoration Hardware, which was a nice store, but not really my taste. Finally, we made it to Nine West. I found that many of the shoes were on sale for 60-75% off. Bingo! I ended up with a nice pair of dark brown croc kitten heels with a pointy toe. I think they were about $30, which was perfect. After some shopping, we needed a snack. Just my luck, there was an Amy's Ice Cream situated right there. I'd heard about Amy's on The View and couldn't wait to try the various flavors. Amy's had a variety of flavors-some average and some wild. I tried the Mexican Vanilla and he tried a beer flavor. We settled on the smallest size and I ordered the Mexican Vanilla with Butterfinger and he got the Dark Chocolate with Reeses. Both were delicious-the ice cream was creamy with great flavor. We were satisfied with our snack. The only downfall of Amy's was that they only took cash- good thing they had an ATM in the store! We walked through more of the outdoors, where I found the cow statues, and finished up at a huge Barnes and Noble. We still had a little bit of time to kill before dinner so we decided to check out the nearby Gateway Market shopping area. There we found Nordstrom Rack, Crate and Barrel, Old Navy, and several more stores. Each of the stores we went in was huge, new, and a bit overwhelming. At Crate and Barrel, I purchased a whoopie pie pan and cookbook and after reading it, I can't wait to start baking again! We left the shopping areas very tired and surprisingly, without breaking the bank. I will definitely go back to the Gateway Market and maybe to the Arboretum-after all, I can't stay away from great ice cream!

The New Austonian